. . . As has been discussed before, he makes his sleeves differently. Most shirtmakers make a somewhat tight cuff and a slightly overlong sleeve. That way they pretty much guarantee that the sleeve cuffs falls to the same spot every time, even if the sleeve length is off by a fraction of an inch. It also prevents the cuffs from riding up as you move your arm. AK prefers to make shirt sleeves like coat sleeves, pitched and tapered to the hang of the arm, and at the precise length necessary. He takes care of the "riding up" problem through high armholes, some excess room at the elbow, and other little tricks I frankly did not understand. . . .

The detail manton discusses above is one of the most interesting things about AK's shirts to me. In the picture of Alex quoted above you can see quite clearly that there is something different about the way the sleeves are cut. You can also see that the cuffs seems a bit looser than usual. As manton explains, that is because Alex does not rely on the wrist closure to keep the sleeve length and cuff in the right place. Instead, he relies on the curvature of the sleeve in his pattern and other design elements. of As a result, the cuff width looks weird to me. Is it wrong? No. If Alex's sleeve cutting does what he (and manton) says it does, than there is no reason for the cuff to be tighter (as long as it isn't so wide as to catch in a coat sleeve). In fact, a looser cuff might be better and more comfortable than the tighter cuff. Still, I can't help but be a prisoner of habit and even if the loose cuff is a superior solution enabled by superior skill, it still looks odd to me.

Are your AK cuffs looser than usual, manton? If so, did it bother you? Did you get used to it?

You know what would be awesome? A sample suit. Since bespoke tailors already cost so much, they should make you a sample suit, that way they can make every suit perfectly.

There is such a thing; it's called a "muslin." Though it's not always made of muslin. Frank Shattuck made no less than three for me, plus two muslin vests. No other tailor I know of still does this, however.

The detail manton discusses above is one of the most interesting things about AK's shirts to me. In the picture of Alex quoted above you can see quite clearly that there is something different about the way the sleeves are cut. You can also see that the cuffs seems a bit looser than usual. As manton explains, that is because Alex does not rely on the wrist closure to keep the sleeve length and cuff in the right place. Instead, he relies on the curvature of the sleeve in his pattern and other design elements. of As a result, the cuff width looks weird to me. Is it wrong? No. If Alex's sleeve cutting does what he (and manton) says it does, than there is no reason for the cuff to be tighter (as long as it isn't so wide as to catch in a coat sleeve). In fact, a looser cuff might be better and more comfortable than the tighter cuff. Still, I can't help but be a prisoner of habit and even if the loose cuff is a superior solution enabled by superior skill, it still looks odd to me.

Are your AK cuffs looser than usual, manton? If so, did it bother you? Did you get used to it?